ISLAMABAD: The 9th Se
ssion of the Pakistan-Tunisia Joint Commi
ssion was held in Tunis, Foreign Office said in an official statement on Friday.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif co-chaired the Joint Commi
ssion with his Tunisian counterpart Khemaies Jhinaoui. This is the first time that Pakistan-Tunisia Joint Commi
ssion Meeting was held at the level of foreign ministers.
The Joint Commi
ssion Meeting enabled a comprehensive review of the entire spectrum of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Tunisia. A detailed discu
ssion was held to strengthen and expand bilateral cooperation, including i
n the fields of security, counter-terrorism, defense, justice, economic development, trade and investment, education, science and technology and agriculture.
Khawaja Muhammad Asif briefed his counterpart o
n the regional situation, including Afghanistan. He also briefed him on India and its grave violations of human rights in Indian-Held Kashmir. The Tunisian foreign minister shared views o
n the situation in Libya and the Middle East. Both sides reaffirmed the importance of resolving the IHK and Palestinian crises in accordance with the Security Council and General Assembly resolutions pertaining to the legal status of Palestine and Kashmir.
Both sides expressed satisfaction at their commonality of views on major regional and international issues and resolved to continue their traditional collaboration at the UN and other multilateral fora, especially through support to each other’s candidatures.
The two sides held discussions on setting up channels of communication betwee
n the specialised agencies of
both the countries i
n the fight against terrorism.
They also expressed the common desire to seek ways and means to establish mutual cooperation i
n the field of defense and exchange technical and scientific information i
n the area of civil protection betwee
n the two countries.
The two sides resolved to enhance the current level of economic and trade interaction betwee
n the countries to reflect the cordiality of brotherly ties. Accordingly, a general agreement for establishing a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) was initiated. It was agreed to exchange multi-sectoral business delegations from both sides.
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations betwee
n the two countries, it was decided to hold variou
s cultural activities including art exhibitions, folk musical and cultural performances of Pakistan in Tunisia and vice versa.
The agreements i
n the fields of industrial and agriculture research, cooperation between small and medium enterprises, judicial cooperation and banking were signed at the conclusion of the Joint Commi
ssion in addition to the agreed upon minutes of the talks and initialing of the general agreement on PTA.
The two sides noted with deep satisfaction, the continuation of the long standing close, fraternal ties, the mutual understanding and goodwill that have enabled the enhancement of bilateral cooperation in politic
al, economic, security and cultural domains.
It was agreed that the 10th se
ssion of the Joint Commi
ssion Meeting will be held in Islamabad at mutually convenient dates in 2019.
Published in Daily Times, February 17th 2018.